Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

in the western part of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, Speyer lies south of

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

and

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, and south-west of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. Founded by the

ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

as a fortified town on the northeast frontiers of their

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, it is one of Germany's oldest cities.

Speyer Cathedral Speyer Cathedral, officially ''the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen'', in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae (German: ''Dom zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer'') in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bish ...

, a number of other churches, and the ("old gate") dominate the Speyer landscape. In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

s and

German kings This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

. The city is famous for the 1529

Protestation at Speyer On 19 April 1529, six princes and representatives of 14 Imperial Free Cities petitioned the Imperial Diet at Speyer against an imperial ban of Martin Luther, as well as the proscription of his works and teachings, and called for the unhindered ...

. One of the

ShUM-cities The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

which formed the cultural center of Jewish life in Europe during the Medieval / Middle Ages, Speyer and its Jewish courtyard was inscribed on the UNESCO (

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

)

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

in 2021.

History

The first known names were ''Noviomagus'' and ''Civitas Nemetum'', after the Teutonic tribe,

Nemetes The Nemetes or Nemeti were a tribe settled along the Upper Rhine by Ariovistus in the 1st century BC. Their area of settlement was the contact zone between Celtic (Gaulish) and Germanic peoples. According to Tacitus, the Nemetes were "unquest ...

, settled in the area. The name ''Spira'' is first recorded in the 7th century, taken from ''villa Spira'', a Frankish settlement situated outside of ''Civitas Nemetum''.

Timeline

* In 10 BC, the first

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

military camp is established (situated between the town hall and the episcopal palace), guarding the northeast frontier of the Roman Empire against Germanic barbarian tribes across the river to the east in Germania * In AD 150, the town appears as Noviomagus on the world map of the Greek geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

. * In 346, a Western Christian / Roman Catholic bishop for the town is mentioned for the first time. * 4th century, ''Civitas Nemetum'' appears on the

Peutinger Map ' (Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tables James Strong and John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. NY: Haper and Brothers ...

. * 5th century, ''Civitas Nemetum'' is destroyed. * 7th century, the town is re-established, and named ''Spira'' after a nearby Frankish settlement. * In 1030, emperor

Conrad II Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdom ...

starts the construction of

, today one of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

. Also in the 11th century, the first city wall is built. * In 1076, emperor Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire embarks from Speyer, his favourite town, for

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his excom ...

. * In 1084, establishment of the first

Jewish community Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

in Speyer. * In 1096, as

Count Emicho Emicho was a count in the Rhineland in the late 11th century. He is also commonly referred to as Emicho of Leiningen or Emich of Flonheim, and not to be confused with Bishop Emicho of Leiningen. In 1096, he was the leader of the Rhineland massacre ...

's Crusader army on their journey in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

(also known as the

People's Crusade The People's Crusade was the beginning phase of the First Crusade whose objective was to retake the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular, from Islamic rule. In 1095, after the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Urban II started to urge faith ...

) to the Muslim-occupied Holy Land, rages across the Rhineland slaughtering innocent Jewish communities in the

Rhineland massacres The Rhineland massacres, also known as the German Crusade of 1096 or ''Gzerot Tatnó'' (, "Edicts of 4856"), were a series of mass murders of Jews perpetrated by mobs of French and German Christians of the People's Crusade in the year 1096 ( ...

. Speyer's Bishop John, with the local leader Yekutiel ben Moses, manages to secure the community's members inside the episcopal palace and later leads them to even stronger fortifications outside the town. It was ruled that anyone harming a Jew would have his hands chopped off. * In 1294, the Roman Catholic bishop loses most of his previous rights, and from now on Speyer is a Free Imperial Town of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. * In 1349, the Jewish community of Speyer is wiped out in a persecution pogrom. * Between 1527 and 1689, Speyer is the seat of the

Imperial Chamber Court The ; ; ) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal proceedings in the Holy Roman Empire could be ...

. * During the 16th century Protestant Reformation era in 1526, at the first

Diet of Speyer (1526) The Diet of Speyer or the Diet of Spires (sometimes referred to as Speyer I) was an Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in 1526 in the Imperial City of Speyer in present-day Germany. The Diet's edict, in summary, denoted the consensus that a ...

interim toleration of

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

teaching and worship is decreed by

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

. * In 1529, at the second

Diet of Speyer (1529) The Diet of Speyer or the Diet of Spires (sometimes referred to as Speyer II) was a Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in 1529 in the Imperial City of Speyer (located in present-day Germany). The Diet condemned the results of the Diet of Spe ...

the

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

states and supporting princes / electors of the Holy Roman Empire protest against the anti-

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

resolutions (19 April 1529

, hence the beginnings of the use of the descriptive term "Protestantism" / "Protestants"). * In 1635, Marshal of France Urbain de Maillé-Brézé, together with Jacques Nompar de Caumont, duc de La Force, conquers Heidelberg and Speyer at the head of the Army of Germany. * In 1689, the town is heavily damaged by invading Royal French troops. * Between 1792 and 1814, Speyer during the long period of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and subsequent

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

is under French occupation and jurisdiction under the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

and following

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(Emperor Napoleon I), continuing earlier during the 18th century, by Royal French troops of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

, after the

Battle of Speyerbach The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Speyer in the modern German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A French army commanded by Camille de Tallard defeated an Allied force under F ...

, a century before in 1703 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

(1701–1714). * In 1816, (following the fall of Napoleon), Speyer becomes the seat of administration of the Palatinate and of the government of the Rhine District of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

(later called the

Bavarian Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Emperor, ...

), and remains so for 129 years until the end of World War II in 1945. * In 1861, at the Speyer Cathedral,

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

was introduced to his future wife

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

by Crown Princess Victoria. * Between 1883 and 1904, the Memorial Church is built in remembrance of the Protestation of 1529 at the Diet of Speyer * In 1947, during post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

western Allied Powers-occupied Germany, the State Academy of Administrative Science is founded (later renamed

German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer The German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer (German: ''Deutsche Universität für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer''; sometimes referred to as Speyer University), is a national graduate school for administrative sciences and public m ...

). * In 1990, Speyer celebrates its 2000th anniversary, on the eve of a reunified

, following the ebbing close of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

Main sights

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

* Altpörtel – Old Town Gate * Gedächtniskirche – Memorial church * Dreifaltigkeitskirche – Trinity church * Jewish courtyard (''Judenhof Speyer'') – remnants of medieval synagogue and intact

mikve A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or ( Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. In Orthodox Judaism, these regulations are steadfastly adhered t ...

, UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Technikmuseum Speyer The Technik Museum Speyer is a technology museum in Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. History The museum was opened in 1991 as a sister museum of the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim and is run by a registered alliance called "Auto & T ...

– Transportation Museum *

Historical Museum of the Palatinate The Historical Museum of the Palatinate () is a museum in the city of Speyer in the Palatinate region of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is situated across the square from the Speyer Cathedral. The museum's focus is on the History ...

Transportation

Speyer lies on the Schifferstadt-Wörth railway and offers hourly connections to

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

and cities in the Rhine-Neckar area (of which Speyer is also a part) Speyer Airfield (German: Flugplatz Speyer) (

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: EDRY) is a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

located 4 km south of the central business district of the city of Speyer.

Mayors

Since 1923 the mayor was a Lord Mayor.

Twin towns – sister cities

Speyer is twinned with: * Spalding, United Kingdom, since 1956; discontinued 2021 *

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

, France, since 1959 *

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

, Russia, since 1989 *

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, Italy, since 1989 *

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

, Poland, since 1992 *

Yavne Yavne () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. In 2022, it had a population of 56,232. Modern Yavne was established in 1949. It is located near the ruins of the ancient town of Yibna (known also as Jamnia and Jab ...

, Israel, since 1998 *

Rusizi District Rusizi is a district (''akarere'') in Western Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Kamembe, the major city of the Rwandan south-west and the district contains large parts of the former Cyangugu Province. Geography, flora and fauna The district li ...

, Rwanda, since 1982/2001 *

Ningde Ningde,; Foochow Romanized: Nìng-dáik; also known as ''Mindong''; zh, s=闽东, p=Mǐndōng, links=no; Foochow Romanized: Mìng-dĕ̤ng; lit. East of Fujian previously Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Ningteh and Ning-Taik, is a prefe ...

, China, since 2013 *

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, United Kingdom, since 2023

Notable people

Born before 1900

Samuel of Speyer Samuel ben Kalonymus he-Hasid of Speyer (; 1120–1175), was a Tosafist, liturgical poet, and philosopher of the 12th century, surnamed also "the Prophet". He seems to have lived in Spain and in France. He was the first of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, ...

(after 1096–death unknown), Exeget of Torah and Midrash *

Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (1150 – 22 February 1217), also called Yehuda HeHasid or Judah the Pious in Hebrew, was a leader of the Ashkenazi Hasidim a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany (not to be confused with the 18th-century Hasid ...

(1140–1217), scribe and philosopher * Julian of Speyer (before 1225– ~ 1250), medieval choir master, composer and poet from the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Order of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

Gabriel Biel Gabriel Biel (; 1420 to 1425 – 7 December 1495) was a German scholastic philosopher and member of the Canons Regular of the Congregation of Windesheim, who were the clerical counterpart to the Brethren of the Common Life. Biel was born in ...

(~ 1415–1495), scholastic philosopher * Dietrich Gresemund (1477–1512), author *

Georg von Speyer Georg von Speyer (1500, Speyer, Holy Roman Empire – 11 June 1540, Coro, Klein-Venedig) was a German conquistador in New Granada and Venezuela. His birth name was Georg Hohermuth but he chose to call himself after his place of birth. H ...

(1500–1540), conquistador/ explorer for the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

in the Americas *

Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (Ernst Egon; 21 March 1588 in Speyer – 24 August 1635 in Constance) was Imperial Count of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1618–1635) and Bavarian Field-marshal, and an important military leader in the Thirty ...

(1588–1635), Reichsgraf of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg *

Johann Joachim Becher Johann Joachim Becher (; 6 May 1635 – October 1682) was a German physician, alchemist, precursor of chemistry, scholar, polymath and adventurer, best known for his ''terra pinguis'' theory which became the phlogiston theory of combustion, and hi ...

(1635–1682), German physician, alchemist, precursor of chemistry, scholar and adventurer * Moritz Georg Weidmann (1658–1693), publisher and bookseller *

Adolf von Dalberg The House of Dalberg is the name of an ancient and distinguished German noble family, derived from the hamlet and castle (now in ruins) of Dalberg or Dalburg, near Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate. They were the ruling family of the Grand D ...

(1678–1737), Prince of Fulda * Simha of Speyer (13th century) German rabbi and

tosafist The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot () are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The authors of the Tosafot ...

. He was one of the leading signatories of the

Takkanot Shum The (), or Enactments of SHU"M, were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by the leaders of three of the central cities of medieval Rhineland Jewry: Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. The initials of the Hebrew names for th ...

. * Philipp Hieronymus Brinckmann (1709–1760), landscape and historical painters as well as copper cutters *

Johann Martin Bernatz Johann Martin Bernatz (22 March 1802 – 19 December 1878), was a German landscape artist. Born in Speyer and trained in Vienna, Austria, he spent much of his life in Munich. He accompanied an expedition to Egypt and the Holy Land in 1836, and a ...

(1802–1878), landscape painter *

Anselm Feuerbach Anselm Feuerbach (12 September 1829 – 4 January 1880) was a German Painting, painter. He was the leading neoclassicism, neoclassical painter of the German 19th-century school. Biography Early life Feuerbach was born at Speyer, the son of ...

(1829–1880), German painter *

Carl Jakob Adolf Christian Gerhardt Carl Jakob Adolf Christian Gerhardt (there are several variations regarding the arrangement of his 3 middle names; 5 May 1833 – 22 July 1902) was a German internist born in Speyer. Biography He studied medicine at the University of Würz ...

(1832–1902), German physician *

Henry Villard Henry Villard (April 10, 1835 – November 12, 1900) was a German-American journalist and financier who was an influential leader and the sixth president of the Northern Pacific Railway (1881–1884) which completed its trans-continental route d ...

(1835–1900), German-American journalist, (reporting as a war correspondent for the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

(1861–1865) and in Europe during the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

of 1866, then publisher of the ''

New York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost.com; PageSix.com, a gossip site; and Decider.com, an entertainm ...

'' newspaper and ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' magazine and finally President (railroad executive) for the trans-continental

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

. * Hermann von Stengel (1837–1919),

Administrative Officer in the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Wilhelm Meyer (philologist) Wilhelm Meyer (1 April 1845, Speyer – 9 March 1917, Göttingen) was a German classical scholar, initially a librarian and literary scholar, who worked also on musicology. He became professor of Classical and Medieval Latin Philology at the Uni ...

(1845–1917), classical philologist, mediavist and librarian *

Karl Heinrich Emil Becker Karl Heinrich Emil Becker (14 September 1879 – 8 April 1940) was a German weapons engineer and artillery general. He advocated and implemented close ties of the military to science for purposes of advanced weapons development. He was the head ...

(1879–1940), general of the artillery, ballist and defense scientist, in the German Empire (Second Reich) / Republic of Germany (Weimar Republic) / Nazi Germany (Third Reich) *

Hans Purrmann Hans Marsilius Purrmann (10 April 1880 – 17 April 1966) was a German artist. He was born in Speyer where he also grew up. He completed an apprenticeship as a scene painter and interior decorator, and subsequently studied in Karlsruhe and Mu ...

(1880–1966), painter, graphic artist, art writer and collector * Hermann Detzner (1882–1970), leader of the German Schutztruppe in the

overseas colony

German New Guinea German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...

in the southwest Pacific Ocean *

Karl-Adolf Hollidt Karl-Adolf Hollidt (25 April 1891 – 22 May 1985) was a German army commander in World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. He was a general (''Generaloberst'') in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded the 6th Army. Care ...

(1891–1985), Army officer (Generaloberst) and war criminal *

Margarete Freudenthal-Sallis Margarete Freudenthal-Sallis (1894–1984) was a German sociologist. Life Margareta David was born to a Jewish family in 1894 (some sources say 1893) in Speyer. She started studying art history and then economics in 1914 but left university upon ...

(ca.1893–1984), German-Jewish sociologist of the changing role of women in home economics * George Waldbott (1898–1982), German-American physician

Born after 1900 (20th century)

George John Dasch George John Dasch (7 February 1903 – 1 November 1991) was a German agent who landed on American soil during World War II. He helped to destroy Nazi Germany's espionage program in the United States by defecting to the American cause, but was ...

(1903–1992), World War II spy who foiled terrorist attacks in the United States by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

* Jakob Brendel (1907–1964), wrestler *

Karl Haas Karl Haas (December 6, 1913February 6, 2005) was a German-American classical music radio host, known for his sonorous speaking voice, humanistic approach to music appreciation, and popularization of classical music. He was the host of the class ...

(1913–2005),

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

music educator and radio presenter * Helmut Bantz (1921–2004), gymnast * Alfred Cahn (1922–2016), German musician and composer * Edgar E. Stern (born 1926), clinical social worker and author of ''The Peppermint Train: Journey to a German-Jewish Childhood'' *

Gabriel Kney Gabriel Kney (21 November 1929 – 8 November 2024) was a Canadian builder of pipe organs based in London, Ontario. Life and career Kney was born in Speyer, Germany. At the age of 15, he apprenticed to Paul Sattel of Speyer to become an organ bui ...

(born 1929), Canadian pipe organ builder * Karl Hochreither (1933–2018), German organist and musicologist * Volker Straus (1936–2002) German

tonmeister ''Tonmeister'' is a job description in the music and recording industries that describes a so-called "sound master" (a literal translation of the German ''Tonmeister''): a person who creates recordings or broadcasts of music who is also both music ...

* Jürgen Brecht (born 1940), fencer *

Wolf Frobenius Wolf Frobenius (1 June 1940 – 4 July 2011) was a German musicologist and lecturer, who taught at the Saarland University. Life Born in Speyer, Frobenius studied musicology, art history and history at the University of Freiburg from 1960 to 1 ...

(1940–2011), musicologist * Gerhard Vollmer (born 1943), physicist and philosopher * Jürgen Creutzmann (born 1945), politician ( FDP) *

Hans-Joachim Lang Hans-Joachim Lang (born 6 August 1951) is a German journalist, historian, and adjunct professor of cultural anthropology at the Ludwig-Uhland Institute for Empirical Cultural Studies University of Tübingen. Dr. Lang researched and authored the ...

(born 1951), journalist, Germanist, historian and honorary professor *

Axel Schimpf Axel Schimpf (born 1 October 1952) is a retired ''Vizeadmiral'' (vice admiral) of the German Navy. Biography Schimpf served as Inspector of the Navy The Inspector of the Navy () is the commander of the Navy of the modern-day German Armed Forces ...

(born 1952), Vice Admiral of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

of the

Eberhard Bosslet Eberhard Bosslet (born 1953) is a German contemporary artist who has been producing site-specific art and architectural-related works, such as sculpture, installation, light art and painting, all indoors and outdoors, since 1979. Biography ...

(born 1953), artist * Kay Friedmann (born 1963), footballer *

Markus Kranz Markus Kranz (born 4 August 1969 in Speyer) is a German football coach and a former player. Honours 1. FC Kaiserslautern * Bundesliga: 1990–91 * DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a G ...

(born 1969), football player * Christoph Bechmann (born 1971), German field-hockey player *

Anke Vondung Anke Vondung (born in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate in 1972) is a German mezzo-soprano. She was a member of the Semperoper, Semperoper Dresden from 2003 to 2006. Career She won third prize in the 1998 ARD International Music Competition in Munich. ...

(born 1972), opera singer * Ralf Schmitt (born 1977), football player *

Simone Weiler Simone Weiler (née Karn, 16 December 1978) is a German swimmer who won a gold medal in the 4×100 m medley relay at the 2002 European Aquatics Championships (50 m pool). She also won three bronze medals in breaststroke in 2003–2005 at short-cou ...

(born 1978), swimmer *

Jochen Kühner Jochen Kühner (born 15 October 1980 in Speyer) is a German rower. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the men's lightweight four. He has also been world champion in this event, along with his brother Martin Kühner, ...

(born 1980), rower * Martin Kühner (born 1980), rower * Matthias Langkamp (born 1984), football player *

Christian Reif Christian Reif (born 24 October 1984 in Speyer) is a retired German long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Alo ...

(born 1984), long jumper * David McCray (born 1986), basketball player * Florian Krebs (born 1988), football player * Sebastian Langkamp (born 1988), footballer *

Lars Stindl Lars Edi Stindl (born 26 August 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played as a attacking midfielder. He could also play as a forward. During his career, Stindl played for Karlsruher SC, Hannover 96 and Borussia Mönchengladbach ...

(born 1988), German footballer *

Elias Harris Elias Harris (born 6 July 1989) is a German professional basketball player for Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and plays for the German national team. Junior caree ...

(born 1989), German international basketball player * Jonas Marz (born 1989), footballer *

Gianluca Korte Gianluca Korte (born 29 August 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for VfR Mannheim. Career Korte was born in Speyer. He joined 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig in 2011 from Oberliga Südwest side TuS M ...

(born 1990), footballer *

Raffael Korte Raffael Korte (born 29 August 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Korte was born in Speyer. He joined 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig in 2011 from Oberliga Südwest side TuS Mechtershe ...

(born 1990), footballer

Notes

External links

speyer.de
the town website (partly in English)
museum.speyer.de
Historical Museum of the Palatinate
dom-speyer.de
website of Speyer Cathedral
Explore the ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture

Model Map of Medieval Speyer

Speyer, its cathedral and the library of its chapter

Technical (Transport) Museum

www.speyer.de: living history in past times

www.speyer-tour.de: Guided tours through Speyer

{{Authority control 1792 disestablishments History of the Palatinate (region) States and territories established in 1294 Palatinate (region) Urban districts of Rhineland-Palatinate Free imperial cities